On Butler and Taylor

On Ezra Butler: For those who missed it, a promising rookie free-agent linebacker, Ezra Butler, was released by the team Tuesday after his arrest for a DUI and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. At least one NFL scout believes Butler is a second-round talent, but the rest of the league obviously doesn’t agree or he would have been drafted.

Butler’s release started a rollicking discussion stream on the issue of weed and whether the 49ers should have cut him.

The Kid says pot isn’t drug abuse no matter how much you ingest. Anything that alters your consciousness can and will be abused. Pot might not be physically addictive, but for addicts anything that keeps them high or altered will be abused, whether it’s weed, Elmer’s or NiQuel.

The NFL is too hard on guys who get arrested for non-violent offenses. The 49ers might have felt compelled to cut him because the NFL might have taken action because this is Butler’s second offense (he failed a drug test for pot in college). Roger Goodell’s legacy shouldn’t be how many guys he suspends, but how many guys get clean and return to the game.

Some of you have said Butler is stupid. Certainly, driving around in a Hummer and getting caught with an illegal substance, looks abjectly stupid on its face. But Bulter is probably an addict, just like Sigmound Freud who abused cocaine or Ernest Hemingway who abused booze. Are those guys unintelligent or just addicts?

Does Jason Taylor still have the desire to dance around offensive tackles?

For the all-pot team, how about Warren Sapp and rookie cornerback Aqib Talib?

On Jason Taylor: Jake 2007 makes a compelling case for signing Jason Taylor, the disgruntled Dolphin. The 49ers probably won’t do it because it’s too much of a risk. Mike Nolan and to a lesser extent, Scot McCloughan, are on edge. If they sign him to a big contract and Taylor flames out, they might both get fired, so they won’t sign him.

But Taylor could fit because he probably wouldn’t play in the 3-4. Just like Bill Walsh did with Fred Dean, Taylor would be brought in on passing downs as a designated rusher when the defense goes to a 4-man line. In his years with the 49ers, Dean never started.

The other issue with Taylor is motivation. He’s gotten a taste of Hollywood with his Dancing With the Stars gig, which might indicate that football is no longer his top priority. But Dean was a risk too. He smoked, didn’t work out and liked to have a good time. But he had Hall-of-Fame ability and made the difference defensively. Taylor might be able to do the same.